The prior art includes reclosable screw top jars within which spreadable foods are contained, e.g., containers for foods such as mayonnaise, Miracle Whip® dressing, other viscous dressings, jams, jellies, nut butters and spreads. Such containers are intended to permit insertion of a knife, spoon or other utensil into the container. In providing a container for this type of product, among the considerations that must be addressed are the ability of the container to receive food product in high-speed commercial filling operations; the degree of difficulty that will be encountered by the consumer in removing product from the container; the ability of the container to withstand various loads, such as stacking loads, during filling, sealing, shipping, display, and consumer use; the ability of the container to be packed efficiently among like containers; the cost of manufacture of the container; the ability of the container to exclude air to enable acceptable shelf life to be maintained, and the costs and difficulty associated with forming, filling and sealing the container. It is also important that containers of this type be aesthetically pleasing where they are intended to be displayed for commercial sale to consumers in grocery stores and/or other retail establishments.
One container that addresses the above considerations is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/579,661. This container has many advantages over prior art containers, but is thought to be susceptible to label damage and/or destabilization under certain circumstances, as explained below.
In high-speed commercial filling operations containers are often placed on a conveyor, directed to a filling station and a labeling station, then discharged from the conveyor. Often, when filled and labeled containers are discharged from the conveyor they are randomly oriented on a table or other surface where adjacent containers contact each other. This contact may damage the labels and destabilize the containers. Accordingly, it is a general object of the invention to provide a container that offers the advantages of the container described and shown in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/579,661, while also providing improved label protection and stability.
Another aspect of the invention relates to providing a container with improved handling and dispensing capabilities. Containers, in particular containers for a semi-liquid or food product, may be used in an environment where slippery material may be on the user's hands and/or the container, which may render the container difficult to handle. It is desirable to have containers sized and shaped to facilitate handling and product removal.